Farmers have been making considerable use of simple wagons, for many years, to harvest crops, collect and haul hay, grain, silage, etc. However, the commonly known simple wagon, as such, requires that whatever has to be loaded or unloaded be pitched into the wagons, and out again, which requires a considerable amount of work and time.
To alleviate this problem, special farm vehicles have been manufactured and made available, to serve the purpose of the old farm wagons, with their own drive power source and specially devised means for helping to simplify the loading and unloading work required. But, such farm vehicles and equipment are expensive in both investment costs and maintenance to the average farmer; particularly when they have limited uses around the farm and are required to set idle and unused a good part of the year. Although farm equipment manufacturers have tried to provide as much dual or multiple purpose use as possible into their various pieces of equipment, they do not have the servicability that the old farm wagon had nor its simplicity of construction which enabled the farmer to make most of his own repairs.
Gone also is the ability to have several farm wagons that could be pulled in tandem or longer trains and whereby an independent tractor could pull and maneuver the wagons through the fields for their intended purpose; allowing one or more tractors to serve any number of wagons and the wagons to be left in the field without typing up the expensive tractor part of the presently known and used self-propelled equipment.
What is really needed by the farmer is a more simple farm vehicle, like the old wagon, which is not too expensive and accordingly can be had in greater number, taken into the fields and left, or moved from one location to another, for whatever purpose without as much concern. In addition, some means is needed to simplify the unloading, in particular, of such a wagon type vehicle; and the more simple and inexpensive it is the better.
The versatility of use, and ability to use one or more wagons, as particular situations may require, have once more become of prime importance in efficient farm management.